Thomas, David, Intransigence and Compromise in Atheno-Theban Diplomacy in the early 360s, 2-37
The parties to the Common Peace of 366/5 BC, its terms and even its existence, have been much disputed among scholars. The paper explains how Thebes, Persia and Athens were all under strong pressure to make this Peace. It argues that Thebes and Persia made an initial concession in 367 regarding the Thracian Chersonese which then had to be extended to cover Amphipolis to achieve tripartite consensus. It advances a new timetable for the year 366, showing how the powers adjusted their positions in a flexible and creative way, even though, once made, the Peace immediately ran into difficulties.
Beattie, Connor, The Nadir of Historiography? Valerius Antias, Senatus Consulata and the Second Macedonian War, 38-73
Valerius Antias, a 1st century BCE Roman annalist, has often been accused of extensive fabrications. John Rich has recently tried to restore Antias’ reputation, suggesting that he used senatus consulta, but has faced a serious roadblock: Antias’ account of the senatus consultum freeing the Greeks in 196, preserved in Livy, contained clauses absent from Polybius’ version and which, therefore, have been rejected by scholarship. In contrast, this paper systematically evaluates these Valerian clauses and argues for their veracity. This has serious implications for the idea that annalists like Antias, and ultimately Livy, accurately conveyed senatorial decrees from the Middle Republic.
Woodman, Anthony J., Cicero and the End of Lentulus (cos. 71 BC), 74-81
Contrary to current scholarly belief, Cicero was right to say that Lentulus (cos. 71 BC) had resigned his praetorship before being executed in December 63.
Houston, Jordon, Spectacular Species: A Discussion Concerning Venationes at Pompeii, 82-102
A significant part of Roman lifestyle was hosting public spectacles either as part of political duties or as self-promotion for the upcoming elections. This is preserved in the numerous edicta munerum preserved throughout the city which advertised upcoming games in the amphitheatre. Included in many of these advertisements are the beast spectacles known as venationes. Very little detail is included about what animals would have been presented at these games. This article will address several forms of evidence regarding the presence of arena animals in Pompeii and which of them could have possibly been presented for the people’s enjoyment.
Gassman, Mattias, The Downfall of Caelestis. Salvian of Marseille and the End of Public Cult in Roman Carthage, 103-125
In De gubernatione dei 8, Salvian claims that Carthaginian Christian noblemen worshipped Caelestis until the Vandalic conquest in 439. This article argues that Salvian’s account is fundamentally unreliable. Augustine and the anonymous Liber promissionum allow one to reconstruct the restrictions on Caelestis’ cult across 399-421. Salvian is ignorant of these developments, and his picture of Carthaginian society does not cohere with Augustine or post-Augustinian sermons. Salvian may not be engaging in outright fiction, but he is distorting cultural patterns attested in Augustine’s works, and so cannot be used as a source for Romano-African cult during its demise.